Effect of 12 weeks of moderate-intensity resistance training on arterial stiffness: a randomised controlled trial in women aged 32-59 years.
BACKGROUND
Resistance training has been increasingly incorporated into the overall exercise programme because of its effect on muscle strength, functional capacity and osteoporosis. High-intensity resistance training increases arterial stiffness. However, the effect of moderate-intensity resistance training on arterial stiffness is unknown.


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether 12 weeks of moderate-intensity resistance training increases arterial stiffness in middle-aged women.


METHODS
35 middle-aged women (age range 32 to 59 years) volunteered to participate. The subjects were randomly assigned to one of three groups: resistance training (RT) group, aerobic exercise training (AET) group or control group. The RT and AET groups performed 12 weeks of moderate-intensity resistance training or aerobic exercise training (two days/week).


RESULTS
In the RT group, one-repetition maximum strength significantly increased after the intervention. Interestingly, aortic (carotid-femoral) pulse wave velocity (PWV; an index of arterial stiffness), and peripheral (femoral-ankle) PWV did not change with moderate-intensity resistance training. In contrast, in the AET group, carotid-femoral PWV significantly decreased after the intervention. Resistance training and aerobic exercise training did not affect blood pressure.


CONCLUSIONS
This study found that moderate-intensity resistance training did not increase arterial stiffness in middle-aged women, which may have great importance for health promotion with resistance training.
Yoshizawa
M
M
Division of Sports Medicine, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, Tsukuba, Japan.
Maeda
S
S
Miyaki
A
A
Misono
M
M
Saito
Y
Y
Tanabe
K
K
Kuno
S
S
Ajisaka
R
R
D000328:Adult; D001158:Arteries / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D053580:Muscle Strength / Q000502:physiology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology; D055070:Resistance Training / Q000379:methods*; D014655:Vascular Resistance / Q000502:physiology*